The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) encouraged foreign investors to take advantage of investment opportunities in the country’s rapid digital transformation and serve as partners in growth and nation-building.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno made this call during the Philippine Economic Briefing for Foreign Chambers of Commerce jointly organized by BSP and the Department of Finance.

“As we build our digital finance ecosystem, we encourage foreign investors who may bring advanced technologies and technical expertise to take advantage of untapped potential in the financial services space and be our partners in achieving our economic growth and financial inclusion objectives,” Diokno said.

Based on the BSP’s 2019 Financial Inclusion Survey, 71 percent or 51.2 million Filipino adults have no bank accounts. Moreover, 30.8 percent of cities and municipalities have no banking offices within their jurisdiction as of the third quarter of 2020.

By catering to the unserved and underserved, financial technology service providers may tap into a wide client base, diversify revenue sources, and secure new growth opportunities in the country, thereby improving efficiency in banking operations.

Diokno said the introduction of new technology and knowledge transfer will boost the competitiveness of local banks and expand access to new markets through partnerships and tie-ups, enabling financial consumers to gain from increased access, lower cost, better products, and improved experience.

The BSP is committed to advocating digitalization reforms to boost the country’s competitiveness and achieve a future-ready financial landscape.

Under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023, the BSP aims to convert 50 percent of the volume of retail payments into digital form and onboard 70 percent of Filipino adults to the formal financial system by 2023. BSP